At the end of March, I have been to Australia to attend the training of the craniosacral therapy.
I would like to share what I learnt from the in-flight program I watched featuring a discussion between an entrepreneur Steven Barlett and a neuroscientist/MD Dr. Tara Swart, which was very interesting and highly related to the significance of the craniosacral therapy.
The point of the discussion was neuroplasticity the brain has, the ability to rewire nerves and create new pathways, so that it can grow no matter how old we are.
There are three main mechanisms of neuroplasticity.
1) Myelination: Myelin is a sheath that protects nerves, and when there is enough myelin, nerve transmission becomes faster. It is related to behaviors that the more you repeat something you are good at, the more progressed your performance would be.
2) Synaptic junctions: When nerve cells connect, new circuits are formed. It is related to behaviors that can be improved by making an effort.
3) Neurogenesis: As stem cells in the hippocampus grow, new nerves are created, and their connections are made. Although neurogenesis is mainly related to memory and learning for children, it also occurs in adults.
So how can we develop brain nerves and improve our performance? To summarize what Dr. Tara suggested, it's all the basics to begin with:
1) Get 8 hours of sleep. (If possible, sleep on your side at a fixed time with someone you love)
It is because 7-8 hours are needed for brain cell turnover that glial cells in the brain flush out waste products in the cerebrospinal fluid.
It is because sleeping with someone you love secretes oxytocin (hormone of happiness).
It is because (mental) resilience is raised during sleep.
2) Do light aerobic exercise. If you can't actually exercise, just imagining is still effective.
3) Eat foods that are dark in color (containing a lot of anthocyanin, which is necessary for nerve regeneration).
4) Drink water.
5) Do something helpful to relieve stress such as meditation, spending time in nature, enjoying art or creative work, or bringing beauty into your life, which makes you feel safe, and as a result your parasympathetic nervous system turns dominant.
6) Choose the environment you are in as it is scientifically believed that stress would be contagious.
Furthermore, Dr. Tara has emphasized on the following points in order to develop the brain function and to change your reality.
1) Have a purpose in life, which is something to improve yourself, and take on big challenges that will benefit others.
2) Change your habitual behavior by:
1. Recognize your pattern of behavior by metacognition.
2. Understand the circumstances (such as trigger, outcome, or accompanying emotions) regarding the pattern of behavior.
3. Keep trying to take a new behavior.
4. Be aware of accountability to change yourself.
Many people find it difficult to continue at steps 3 and 4, but as you keep doing, the neural circuits in the brains gradually change, that is, the neural circuits for new behavioral patterns become stronger than the old ones, and as a consequence, the reality you experience would change.
Interesting enough, I find what Dr. Tara has mentioned is similar to the law of attraction, which is spiritually believed as it is our thoughts that create reality. She said if the circuits of thoughts change (from an anxious state to a trusting state), reality will change.
For this purpose, she has suggested attending to the words we speak to ourselves, which are generated by our thoughts, and repeating positive words or affirmations such as "It's okay". Try to avoid saying "I need..." because it comes from a sense of lack.
She has also suggested keep practicing the following steps:
1. Identify what you want
2. Sit down for five minutes and imagine or feel what you want.
3. Be grateful, as if you had already achieved what you want.
Last but not least, Dr. Tara mentioned about the nervous system and stress responses.
According to her, stress responses originated from the brain would be inherited from generation to generation, or in other cases, certain genes would be expressed at the time of conception or during the gestation period.
It is not easy to change deep-rooted stress responses or habitual behavioral patterns, she said, but at the same time, has encouraged us to believe that it is still possible to change such responses or patterns.
I was also impressed by what she explained that the nervous system stores the wisdom from past experiences which the body transmits using the nerve network from cerebral cortex, limbic system, brain stem, to spinal cord and enteric nerves.
Therefore, by listening to the body's wisdom, it will inspire you in the form of intuition or gut senses at crucial occasions such as making decisions.
The nervous system has evolved in order for us to survive, and stress responses seeming negative are happening in order to survive.
Throughout her talks, I have strongly realized that by being aware of what we want or how we want to be, it is possible to change our life even if we are initially struggling with our stress responses or patterns.
It is definitely important to reduce stress, and I believe that therapy sessions that I am offering such as Craniosacral therapy, Metamorphic Technique, and Brain Gym can help with that, as they are focused on working on the nervous system. As my mission, I would like to keep in mind that by having a clear intention, we can transform our life.
Since coming back home, I have been inspired to start offering a free international online session of Brain Gym and Reiki for women diagnosed with or treated for breast cancer (or other serious disease).
Dr. Tara has emphasized on the importance of regulating emotions, and I cannot forget what my teacher of the craniosacral therapy mentioned that memories of shocks are stored in the nervous system, and it is likely that unresolved shocks may develop as an illness (cancer) within two years from the shocking event has occurred. For my own case of having breast cancer, it really made sense to me.